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Dinosaur fossils may be exhibited in northern Peru

Paleontological species to be exhibited in Trujillo.

Trujillo, May 20 (ANDINA).- The remains of four dinosaurs recently found in the northern Peruvian region of La Libertad may be exhibited in the First Paleontological Museum to be built in Trujillo, said the project’s promoter Klaus Honninger Mitrani, who noted that they are already coordinating with Peru’s National Institute of Culture (INC).The fossils include a glyptodont (similar to the armadillo), a megaterio (similar to the sloth bear) and a third unidentified species (with horse shape), located in San Pedro de Lloc, province of Pacasmayo.

He said they have also found a mastodonthat in Cascas, Gran Chimu province; that is why local authorities have started the paperwork with INC in order to preserve it.

“I believe in the next 12 months the first paleontological museum of Peru, which will be built in Trujillo, will exhibit these 4 large dinosaurs,” he told Andina.

“The coastal area of La Libertad is very interesting because we can find a varied fauna which dates back to the ice age. That is why we found several fossilized species, but they can not be rescued without INC authorization,” he said.

He pointed out that they signed an agreement with Universidad de Piura, which includes the donation of a paleontology laboratory to study all remains found in La Libertad and Piura.

Prehistoric “dinosaur”, “mammoth” fossils displayed in Chongqing

BEIJING, April 27 — A herd of animals led by two “mammoths” and nine “dinosaurs” are causing a stir in the central Chinese city of Chongqing.

“China’s Prehistoric Animal Fossil Exhibition” is underway at the city’s Liberation Monument Square. More than 30 precious artifacts are on display.

The show features relics from well-known museums in 8 provinces and cities. Many of the fossils are considered national treasures and date between the Jurassic and the Quatenary periods 190 million years ago.Among the highlights are the bones of nine dinosaurs and a well-preserved woolly mammoth skeleton. Researchers estimate the 2-and-a-half-meter-tall mammoth is about three million years old. A nearby mechanical replica mimics the movements and sound of the real thing.This exhibition runs until May 24th.

One hundred years ago a discovery was made that drastically changed our view of the history of life on Earth. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) presents A Fossil Paradise: The Discovery of the Burgess Shale by Charles D. Walcott, an exploration of the Burgess Shale’s early excavations, including vintage panoramic photos, site artifacts and a profile of the man who made the great discovery as told by his personal field notes and letters.

Considered one of the most important finds in palaeontology, the Burgess Shale was humankind’s first view into some of the most ancient and bizarre animals to inhabit our planet 500 million years ago. From January 31, 2009 to April 26, 2009, the exhibition will be presented on Level 2 of the Hilary and Galen Weston Wing, next to a display of fossils from the ROM’s own storerooms, the largest and most diverse collection of Burgess Shale specimens in the world.

“The origin of today’s animal diversity can be traced back to half-billion years in the superbly preserved fossils of the Burgess Shale,” said Jean-Bernard Caron, Associate Curator, Invertebrate Palaeontology. “The period when these animals lived shortly followed a time of massive evolutionary changes and experimentations, known as the Cambrian Explosion. Today, these fossils continue to marvel scientists and public alike in providing important clues on this unique chapter in the history of life.”

The Burgess Shale is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, near the town of Field, British Columbia. The spot contains some of the world’s most spectacularly preserved fossilized remains of soft-bodied organisms that evolved in the Cambrian Period, 500 million years ago. Concealed within layers of rock are fine details of their anatomy, allowing a greater understanding of the ecology, diversity and evolution of animal communities during that period. American Charles Doolittle Walcott (1850-1927), discovered the most important of the Burgess Shale sites in 1909 while serving as the Fourth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and regularly returned to the Burgess Shale until 1924 when, at the age of 74, he had collected over 65,000 specimens.

Vintage Photography

Walcott used photography to document his scientific work. While this was an important means of documenting scientific findings, field photography in the early 1900s was extremely cumbersome. Walcott preferred glass-plate negatives, which meant hauling heavy glass over the mountains by horse. It was also often necessary to send test photo shots all the way to Washington, D.C. to be developed and back before he knew whether to adjust the camera. Despite these hardships, by the time of his last expedition, Walcott had taken 650 photographic panoramas of the Canadian Rockies.

A Fossil Paradise includes eight of these oversize vintage panoramic photographs that demonstrate the scenic grandeur of the area and document a geologist at work in the early 20th century. Also on display is a 2.5 metre (over 8 feet) wide panorama taken from Burgess Pass by Walcott in 1911, the largest photograph ever published by National Geographic. Visitors can also see a circa 1908 R.B. Cirkut camera of the type used by Walcott. — www.rom.on.ca

FARMINGTON — From searching for dinosaur bones in a tub to playing with puppets to building their own dinosaurs, children will have plenty to do when “Baby Dinosaurs” opens Saturday.

Mike Short touches up a baby dinosaur with paint in preparation for the opening of the "Baby Dinosaurs" exhibit this weekend at E3 Children's Museum & Science Center. (Lindsay Pierce/The Daily Times)

The E3 Children’s Museum & Science Center will display the new exhibit through March 28 after the museum closed its doors Dec. 1 to set up the exhibit. The exhibit opens Friday for museum foundation members.

“Baby Dinosaurs” includes robotic dinosaurs and a variety of hands-on educational activities for children ages 2 to 8.

A Triceratops that children can control with two joy sticks sits near a larger Parasaurolophus that maneuvers on its own.

Some of the exhibit shows how dinosaurs grew from hatchlings to adults. An approximately 6-foot replica of an adult Brontosaurus’ upper-leg bone sits next to one about a foot long.

“The kids kind of experience it through their own imagination,” said Kelly Hile, the museum’s coordinator.

Children also can attach green, blue and red stuffed legs, heads and claws of dinosaurs to a body to create their own dinosaurs. A table with Tyrannosaurus rex and Stegosaurus stamps will give children a chance to create designs on paper they can take home.

“Children need to be able to interact and imagine to learn,” Hile said.

The museum also will display murals from New Mexican dinosaur artist Karen Carr, Hile said.

Carr’s work appears at museums throughout the country and the children’s museum is “very lucky” to have the murals, Hile said.

Though many of the museum displays are replicas or casts from real dinosaur bones and fossils, Hile said the museum will display a few real ones.

People have found dinosaur fossils and bones in the nearby Bisti/De-na-zin Wilderness Area, making Farmington an ideal city for the children’s dinosaur exhibit, Hile said.

Regular exhibits at the children’s museum remain free, but for “Baby Dinosaurs,” adults pay $5 admission, senior citizens $4 and children 12 and under $3. Children 2 years old and younger and museum foundation members are free.

Other exhibits, such as “Tots Turf,” designed to help develop motor skills of children age 5 and younger, will remain free. Activities such as instruction on how to sketch a dinosaur are free though they do not include admission to “Baby Dinosaurs.”

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Upcoming Baby Dinosaurs’ events

The following activities will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. in December and January at the E3 Children’s Museum & Science Center, 302 N. Orchard Ave. in Farmington.

“The Dinosaur Prophecy”: This movie discusses how dinosaurs lived and died. The film will be shown Dec. 20, 26, 27 and Jan. 31.

“Sketch a dinosaur”: Children can learn how to sketch dinosaurs with pencils Jan. 3.

“Draw future dinosaurs”: Children can learn how draw dinosaurs in color Dec. 30.

“Mold it!”: Children can create their own fossil, and learn how fossils are made, discovered and identified Jan. 31.

Three-Toed Horse Fossil on Display in Wyoming

by: Kimberly S. Brown, EditorDecember 04 2008

If you are anywhere near Kemmerer, Wyo., you might want to check out the cast of “the most complete fossilized ‘dawn horse’ ever found” at Jim Tynsky’s fossil shop starting Dec. 11. The replica is courtesy of the Field Museum of Chicago, Ill., who borrowed Tynsky’s three-toed horse fossil to make casts for themselves for display and study, and they also made casts for Tynsky to display in his shop.

Tynsky holds commercial fossile digs at his quarry, allowing visitors to pay to find common fossils such as Diplomystus and Priscacara fish, and crocodile, turtle, and stingray fossils.